The drawn-out, tedious process of doling out $8.8 billion in civil restitution stemming from the BP oil spill reached a benchmark last week.

The Texas Trustee Implementation Group Final 2017 Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment: Restoration of Wetlands, Coastal, and Nearshore Habitats; and Oysters — I wonder how long it took to compose and agree on this title — was published on Oct. 18, revealing funding for 13 Texas projects.

We got one.

These restoration projects are focused on oysters and wetlands, coastal, and nearshore habitats will receive an estimated $45.76 million. The Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program and the Texas General Land Office are partners in a worthwhile project for Corpus Christi Bay.

The project's protection area includes Portland's Indian Point Park and submerged lands owned by the Port of Corpus Christi.(Photo: Contributed)

The Indian Point Shoreline Erosion Protection project seeks to protect about 50 acres of critical seagrass, coastal marsh and lagoon in Portland. The estimated cost of the project is about $2.2 million.

This project involves the construction of about 2,800 feet of segmented stretches of breakwater along the shore. These would supplement some existing revetments and breakwaters installed in 2015 for the same purpose.

The 2015 structures were installed or overseen by the bays and estuaries program with funding from a Coastal Erosion Planning and Response Grant, administered by the GLO.

According to documents, the shoreline of Indian Point Park has been eroding rapidly for the past 50 years. The shoreline has retreated more than 500 feet and about 19 acres of beach, shallow lagoons, and marsh have been converted to open bay. The resulting saltwater intrusion has altered the vegetation and habitat.

Indian Point Park is owned by the City of Portland and the surrounding submerged lands are owned by the Port of Corpus Christi.

The GLO has not chosen a construction contractor for the project yet, said Brittany Eck, press secretary for Land Commissioner George P. Bush.

"The completion date for the project has not be determined," Eck said. "But since the project is shovel ready it should move quickly to construction."

An Indian Point breakwater project was selected in the first round of funding awards from the BP settlement.(Photo: Contributed CBBEP)

The Texas trustees considered more than 800 projects to arrive at the 13 preferred projects, which came out of an extensive public comment process that included public meetings in Galveston and Corpus Christi.

And then came Hurricane Harvey, which sent decision makers back into session. But after reevaluating their priorities, the group decided to stick with its original list of 13.

Project locations include all five gulf states, many Caribbean islands, and several conservation projects in North Dakota and South Dakota to benefit the nesting habitats of migratory waterbirds. It's an exhaustive wish list, as you can imagine.

And dozens of submissions came from the Coastal Bend, South Texas and elsewhere in the state. I'm sure you could pick a few favorites, while naming several long shots. Either way, Larry McKinney, executive director of the Harte Research Institute, believes the conservation community should be unified in its advocacy toward projects.

"There was a lot of discussion about the lack of southern projects, as best I recall," McKinney said. "All the projects listed are worthy and tough to compete with, but there are many in South Texas as well. I think it will be in the best interest of South Texas conservation, for counties and cities to work together in upcoming rounds. The next round will likely give a lot of consideration to Harvey impacts, so the timing would be right for a strong and unified response."

As McKinney suggested, last week's short list does not represent Texas' only opportunity to gain funding from the BP settlement. Of the estimated $8.8 billion total, which will be distributed over 15 years, Texas is expected to receive $238 million overall.

David Sikes’ Outdoors columns appear Thursday and Sunday. Contact David at 361-886-3616 or david.sikes@caller.com.